Before the Dawn
by Padawanclaramel
Summary: Rose Weasley is a 7th year student at Hogwarts with a definately embarassing title of bookworm. But a new romance this year will reveal the real Rose and just how unique this Weasley witch can be!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, this is a fanfic for all those Scorpius/Rose shippers out there. The story takes place in Rose's 7th and final year at Hogwarts where she breaks out of her public image of bookworm/workaholic. Scorpius is definately making many appearances and I may write from his point of view but this will mostly be a story centered from Rose's point of view. **

**Reviews are most welcome however if you are going to critise me for the pairings or for things that you think aren't accurate to JKR's books then don't bother please because this is fanfic for a reason!**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy! :-D**

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**Before the Dawn**

The light danced off the crystal sending sparkles flying over the ceiling, rainbow fairies gracefully floating in an enchanted sky. Rose sighed, if only life were so simple, no stress or worry, everything calm and peaceful.

Her sigh broke the silence _'As if!'_.

The sparkles disappeared and Rose heaved herself up off the dusty floor. She had work to do and lying in the middle of an abandoned classroom casting enchanting spells was not going to solve anything.

A sharp knock pierced the air and the annoyingly familiar voice of her cousin Albus called, "Rose I know you're in there! Come out now I need some help!"

_'Welcome to the hectic world of Rose Weasley'_ she mused. _'Omg where do I start?'_

It sucked having a massive family. Rose had so many cousins and aunts and uncles and grand people that any family gathering would imminently turn into a farmyard riot. Birthdays were hectic, Easter frantic and Christmas so cluttered with movement and noise that Rose always had a headache. It sucked too that so many of the family had come to Hogwarts when she was there. Gryffindor house had turned into red-haired pandemonium _'and' _, Rose mused,_ 'I'm sure the school had seen enough trouble from the Weasley clan when my uncles were there'._

The only peace Rose could ever find from the chaotic ramble of school and family life was to retreat to her special places. At home it was the hidden room found behind her floor-length mirror and at school, the Room of Requirement or should that be occupied, a study room in the far end of the library. Here, she could relax, listen to music, eat whatever she fancied, read any book she wanted or just act silly for hours on end. Sometimes she'd be so tired that she would fall asleep on the spongy sofa the rooms summoned or just lie and stare at the ceiling for what would seem like eternity. Yep, the little comforts in life were things that Rose looked forward to every day.

"C'mon Rose! Far out I've been waiting here for ages!" Albus' voice reverberated through the door.

Impatiently, she stalked to the door and yanked it open. "What? This had better be good Albus I was busy".

His miffed expression didn't improve her mood. "Uh durrr! When are you ever not busy? God your such a bookworm Rose. Anyway, I need some help with that NEWT practice essay Goldstein gave us".

Rose arched her eyebrow "So you womanising poser, what's in it for me if I help you?"

A grin slowly worked its way across Albus' face. "Aw, come on I'm not that bad and to be fair you're not really a bookworm, that was Aunt Hermione". His expression turned thoughtful, "weeell… I can't offer you scholarly help in return and I know you'd castrate me if I said alcohol or drugs, soooo… maybe money? An object? Set up a date with your crush of the moment?"

Rolling her eyes, Rose leaned forward and took the essay from Albus' outstretched hand.

"I can't believe that we've only been a week back at school and already you're asking me for help. I don't need money or anything. I'll have to think up of something good so consider it an 'I owe you' for now".

"Thanks Rose, anything you want, anything at all". He said with relief.

As she turned to walk back in the room, Rose said over her shoulder "Oh and one more thing, I won't be having a lot of time to help you this year, or anyone else for that matter, so you'd better start paying attention in classes".

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Despite being top in the majority of her classes, Rose was not the control-freak studyaholic that Hermione Granger-Weasley had been. Her near-perfect grades she chalked up to her ability to remember facts clearly and her gift for logic, something she'd inherited off her mother. Competition for Rose Weasley was slim, but there was another student who gave her contest for top student of the year. It was this student who had surprised Rose in the beginning with his intelligence. The first test they'd ever got back in 1st year had surprised Rose so much, she had thought she'd be the best in the year no questions asked. That hadn't gone to plan and neither had anything else…

Rose didn't love school, the study and homework was one thing but the students made life at Hogwarts so much more complicated. At first when she had arrived as a wide-eyed and innocent 1st year the student body had welcomed her warmly. After all, she was the daughter of two of the most famous witches and wizards of all time and a little bit of curiosity was bound to appear. It had not stayed. The students had already been exposed to older Weasleys and Potters, such as the uncommon kindness of Teddy Lupin, the extraordinary beauty of Victoire Weasley and the self-elevating arrogance of James Potter who had been an immediate hit with everyone and the most popular kid in school by the age of 13. Adding to that list Rose's intelligence and gangly 12 year old looks it was no surprise that she was not as popular as her older cousins. She was not arrogant or flamboyant like James or extraordinary beautiful like Victoire and although her dorm mates thought her a kind person, the school didn't know enough of Rose Weasley to realise her kindness.

At one stage Rose had not been alone in her unpopularity. Albus had been as shy as she was smart and had difficulty talking to anyone at all in his first year. By the age of 14 though, that had all changed. After discovering his voice and realising he was a magnet to girls, Albus had drifted off into what Rose called the 'spotlight zone'. He knew he was good-looking, just like his older brother James, but thankfully he did not abuse his power unlike James.

_'If anyone has made the biggest transformation here its Albus'_ Rose mused on her sofa. '_But_', she supposed, _'life is full of surprises. Who'd have thought that I'd end up in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor. Nearly my whole family is in there, but when have I ever been brave or overly loyal?'_

Ravenclaw had been a very shocked house the year that she'd come to Hogwarts. Not only had they got the daughter of one of the smartest witches of all time but they'd also got the son of the most oldest, wealthy and recently disgraced family that had dominated the Slytherin house for centuries.

Yes. Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco Malfoy and grandson of the notorius ex-deatheater Lucius Malfoy had been sorted into Ravenclaw house much to the shock of his peers and fellow class-mates. And no one more than Rose had been shocked by his intelligence and ability to threaten her position in all her classes.

Still, Rose didn't hate Scorpius Malfoy. She respected his talent and considered their competition more of a friendly rivalry rather than a contest between enemies. She hadn't wanted to hate him for his family like her father had encouraged because if she was truthful with herself she didn't think he was a bad person.

_'Not that I know him well. How do you talk to someone who you've had a crush on since 3rd year? And he so rarely dates anyone.'_

Scorpius was the type of guy who was quiet but respected by everyone. He was also the sort of guy that girls wanted to be with and who boys wanted to be. Physically, he was the hottest guy in school next to the Potters, with pale straight blonde hair that was perfectly ruffled in all the right places. He also sported a lightly muscled torso and arms with a face that was traditionally handsome with high cheekbones and smooth skin. So all in all, Scorpius was definitely one of the most sought after guys in school for its female population. That didn't mean that he'd become the type of guy that James had been though. He didn't date many girls and if he did, they were usually not the girls who would toss themselves at his feet. He was not arrogant or malicious and according to Rose's friend, Emily, he didn't treat girls disrespectfully.

_'He'll never notice me,'_ Rose sighed. _'To most people I'm still that bushy-haired, freckled kid from 1st year that no one would ever ask out. I wish people could see me for who I am'_

Rose stared wistfully into the mirror across the room. Her auburn hair fell in soft waves around her face, it had lost its bushiness since 4th year, and her chocolate brown eyes sparkled out from the light dusting of freckles that adorned her face. She wasn't beautiful in her eyes, pretty maybe….not ugly definitely, but no where near as good-looking as other girls. She'd grown more curves too since turning seventeen which was a bonus but she still didn't have the amount of curves that she would like. No D-cup breasts or rounded hips but at least she had long legs.

James had once complemented Rose on her legs the summer after 5th year when they'd been setting up a picnic at Grandma Weasley's place.

"Wow Rose, I never noticed what great legs you have!" Which he'd immediately countered with, "you could be a model with those if you had the rest to go with 'em." He'd only just managed to dodge Rose's knee to his groin.

Rose quietly laughed to herself. _'Typical James, complement someone and then instantly take it back with an insult."_

Another knock struck the silence of the room around her and Rose angrily heaved herself up of the sofa for the second time.

"Geez! Albus can't you give me a break! I will get to your essay as soon as I can, just give me a chance to……"

Rose only got the door halfway open before she froze.

A pair of silvery grey eyes were looking intently into her own………

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**And there it is, cliff hanger much? I'll update as soon as I can! XD  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter.... **

**We have both Rose's and Scorpius' point of view this time :D Enjoy!  
**

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**Before the Dawn**

**Chapter 2**

**Rose's POV**

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to look someone in the eye when you are conscious of every single particle in their being? I mean, if you were conversing with a friend or a dorm mate or any generic person really, it would be so easy and so relaxed. You wouldn't be concerned at all about how you look, how you stand, how you talk and how you hold your hands. And you definitely wouldn't over-analyse everything single little thing that would come out of his mouth or yours that's for sure.

But nothing is ever simple or easy when you are confronted with the intent look of the guy you've had a crush on for three years.

At first you kind of freak out a bit and think _'omg! Omg! He's looking at me?'_. And then, once you've overcome the intense shock of it all you're hit with a crippling shyness as you start to wonder what on earth you are going to say. To make matters worse, at some point in all that confusion and angst your brain tells you in an awfully mean voice just how stupid you must look floundering around for words and just what a pathetic person you must be for letting this all get to you.

It's not nice that's for sure.

I'm positive that my stomach is going to jump through my mouth at any second and I'm so aware that I've been standing staring at him for what must be nearly a minute.

Why won't he hurry up and speak!

"Uh…hi," he mutters obviously embarrassed. It's from my staring I'm sure.

"…um…hey?" I strangle out. It's all I can manage.

We stand and stare at each other again for what seems like an age.

Scorpius Malfoy and I rarely talk even though we're in the same house. If he's not with his friends he's usually surrounded by hordes of admiring girls or crawlers trying to be cool by being seen with him. Being the head boy also means that he gets very busy, even busier than me, with head duties. Add to that the fact that teenage boys often have difficulty relating to us girls and it's not hard to understand why we've never talked much.

Scorpius' mouth starts moving and I snap my mind out of the clouds and focus all my energy on absorbing what he says to me.

"…Halloween is a big task so I came to see you because I needed some help."

_Him _need me for help?

"Marisa is just not going to cope with the two of us doing all the main work and so she suggested that we each find some help from people in our year."

Marisa? Oh, Marisa! She's the head girl this year. She's lucky, getting to spend all that time during head duties with Scorpius.

I was a bit miffed at first when I didn't get chosen for head girl. If fact I was actually quite pissed to be honest. But then I realised why I hadn't been chosen for the job and it all made sense (not that I liked it mind you). You don't have to be the smartest to be head. In fact half of it is responsibility (which I have) and the other half, the ability to relate to people and help them. I'd never really demonstrated this publicly and so, Marisa had been chosen over me.

To be frank, I'm over it really. Who wants all those duties on top of our intense NEWT workload anyway?

I force myself to respond. "But what about the prefects? Surely they can help?"

What am I doing? Refusing to help him? I can't do that!

Scorpius' mouth twitched slightly. "Well they _will_ be helping to some extent but there are spells that Marisa and I want to use for the decoration that most of them can't handle. They're pretty advanced spells."

"Oh," is all I say.

Scorpius stares at me for a little more and then glances off to the side. "Look, I'd really appreciate some help and I promise to make it up to you if you help me. But I can always ask someone else if you're not interested."

Shocked I respond. "No! I mean yes, of course I'll help you. You don't have to make it up to me."

A relieved smile spreads across Scorpius' face.

"That's great! Thanks so much and I _will_ be making it up to you. We're having a meeting tomorrow during lunch to discuss it all. If you could make it….well that'd be great too."

"Sure." Frantically I search for any previous engagements that I may have made in my head, but Scorpius is already walking down the hall.

I half open my mouth to shout out I'm free, but then half swallow it at the last second. I just said 'sure' didn't I?

Sighing I turn back to my sofa and my eyes instantly pick up the dog-eared pages of Albus' practice essay. I groan. More work to do. Lovely.

But as I work I also contemplate….

I wonder how Scorpius knew where to find me?

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**Scorpius' POV**

Scorpius didn't hate his father.

How could you hate someone who had strived for the best for his son since the day he'd first held his tiny red newborn. Even though the best had not always been to Scorpius' liking the thought had always been there. It was what convinced Scorpius that his father did care for him through all the Malfoy arrogance and repression.

Love did not come easily to Draco Malfoy that was for sure. At one point in his life Scorpius had been convinced that the Great Wizarding War against Voldemort had squeezed any love that there may have been out of his father. Left cold and very unresponsive, Draco never expressed emotion the way normal people would (or so Scorpius believed).

But despite this, it was the little things that counted.

Take, for example, Scorpius' disgraced grandfather. Lucius Malfoy had spent many years leading up to Scorpius' 11th birthday trying to persuade his parents to send him abroad for his education. But, come August when the Hogwarts owls came knocking on the front door, no decline was sent on behalf of the Malfoy family. Scorpius could go to Hogwarts just like every other normal child.

It was one of the happiest days of Scorpius' life.

Yes, Scorpius' parents were definitely very unlike his grandparents. Not wanting to stand out from the crowd anymore they had long since abandoned the lavishly decorated halls of Malfoy Manor still haunted by Lucius and Narcissa. Scorpius did not live in an expensive mansion and nor did he get showered in gifts or receive luxurious clothing or toys. He lived on the outskirts of London in a house that was of wealthy origins but not ridiculously luxurious and he had been allowed to intermingle with children his own age in the muggle suburb.

In the scheme of things, Scorpius considered himself lucky. Lucky to be born in this age. Lucky to have escaped the horrors of the war. And distinctly lucky to have had a normal childhood free of the guilt and blame placed on his family.

He knew the real story and if he was honest with himself he knew that what had happened long ago, whilst not very becoming of his family, shouldn't hold him back in life.

Scorpius was not his father and definitely _not_ his grandfather.

Still, it had hurt standing at platform nine and three quarters all those years ago, overhearing the red-haired father instruct his daughter not to talk to him and to beat him in every class. What had he ever done wrong? Why did he deserve this treatment? Would his worst fears be confirmed? Would he be that bullied kid in school just because of his family name?

At first Rose Weasley had cast him suspicious glances whenever he was near and he knew she had been surprised when she had realised she'd have tough competition in most of her classes. But as both of them had been sorted into Ravenclaw and Scorpius had quickly proved his innocence, no more suspicion or hate ever came from the Weasley family again.

In fact, he'd actually been approached by the pretty and very promiscuous younger Potter, Lily on many occasions. He didn't date girls he barely knew though, and she was one of them despite her looks. Too many bad things came out of those sort of relationships.......

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_'They still follow me around, why can't I just have a moment of peace?'_ Scorpius groaned. Today, as usual, there was a horde of girls to accompany him to every class. It was very annoying.

Clearly he was the only one who thought that too because next to him Albus Potter was lapping up the attention. It was the latest contest between these girls to see who would be invited to attend the Hogwarts Halloween celebration with Albus or Scorpius.

"Alby oh Alby! How was your holiday?" The irritating tones of Lacey Price, a 5th year Hufflepuff, squealed.

Albus grinned cockily and brushed her off with a "Good…we've got a new next door neighbour, she's very hot."

_'Ooohh, burn!'_ I thought smugly. Lacey wasn't put off though she kept on at it right up until we crossed the doorway into our classroom. Her voice was like the constant slam of a sledge hammer into the side of my brain.

Walking into that classroom felt like a sharp blast of relief. Finally! Some peace and quiet.

Just as I relaxed I immediately tensed again. _'Oh great…'_ I'd been made late to class by those girls and Professor Goldstein was not impressed. I hurried to take a place.

Rose Weasley looked up as I took the spare seat next to her. Surprisingly her fresh page was blank, no notes, nothing. Well, unless you counted the obvious doodle of a owl in the corner. Strange, I'd have thought she'd have half a page of notes written by now. That owl was nicely drawn though…

"Hi." Her whispered voice caught my attention. "You'd better hurry up and get your stuff out, Goldstein looks pissed."

Nodding in agreement I hastily pulled out paper and a biro. No one bothered with quills any more, they broke too quickly. Rose seemed to like them though because she usually has a different coloured one for every day of the week. Today she had a nice silvery-blue one. No, I'm not gay, I just notice the small things.

_Sooo, today at lunch was it?_ Her sharp print appeared on my page.

_Yep, that's the plan, although some of the prefects will be absent because of duties._ My smooth looped script wrote in reply.

_What about food?_

_You like food too much to skip a meal?_

…………

_?_

_I like my food and besides they have chicken sandwiches for lunch today._

_Hey, how do you know that?_

_Someone told me…_

…_Riiight, well anyway we'll have lunch at the meeting_

_Oh, good…_

Apparently she then ran out of things to say to me so I returned my attention to the class at hand.

And the funny thing too is that by the end of the class, Rose's owl had morphed into a fully fledged forest with deer, oak and a rather impressive mountain backdrop............

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**And that's chapter 2. I'm having a lot of fun writing this and I hope you're having fun reading it XD Anyway, I'll try to update soon._  
_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Breaking the Dawn**

**Chapter 3**

_I have never been more bored in my life_

Rose groaned as she slid further down in her chair.

Never again would she come to one of Marissa's lunchtime meetings. For one, there had been hardly enough food for everyone and for two, Marissa's prattle about decorations had quickly put even the most attentive prefects into a stupor.

5th year Alice Rigby was twisting a strand of hair around her finger whilst staring at Thomas Summers, a lanky 6th year who was gently dozing in a chair 3 seats away.

"…..and I want there to be plenty of pumpkins, lots of them, we need the hall to look authentic…" Marissa declared as she stepped towards Scorpius.

Rose was not at all surprised to see him jerk up in his chair when Marissa mentioned his name, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Scorpius and I will look after the harder spells with our 7th year helpers. I expect the rest of you to follow the sheets I have given out very closely. Watch that you pay particular attention to where I want the spells _casted._"

20 minutes later Rose stumbled out of the room barely managing to stifle a huge yawn.

"Pretty boring huh?"

Rose whirled around and came face to face with Scorpius.

"Oh…well…."

He grinned, "c'mon you know it was. Did you see Summers drooling on his shirt?"

They set off down the corridor together, eager to avoid being late to herbology class with professor Longbottom. The resulting loss of house points was never a good idea.

"Yeah, that was pretty funny. Or maybe it was only funny because I was so bored."

"Well I was." Scorpius sighed.

They continued their friendly banter all the way to the entrance hall when Rose suddenly came to a halt.

"Coming?" called Scorpius over his shoulder as he opened the door to the grounds.

Rose hesitated before replying "Uh….I'll be there in a moment. Just gotta grab something."

"We passed Ravenclaw tower 3 floors ago" replied a confused Scorpius.

"I know, see you in Herbology." Rose said mysteriously and made her way past the great hall to a corridor leading to the dudgeons.

Quickly making her way downwards, Rose smiled at realisation that she'd just had a conversation about boredom with the boy who was her academic rival in every class. Maybe they had more in common than she thought….

Coming to a halt in front of the still life painting of fruit, Rose reached out and with practiced precision tickled the pear on the right.

"What _are_ you doing?"

Rose let out a squeak and jumped. Dammit! She hated when people caught her by surprise.

Scorpius was standing right behind her.

"Holy cow don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed.

Scorpius smirked, "well I'm sorry Miss Weasley" and he looked anything but. "I wasn't aware that you were privy to the Hogwarts kitchens."

Before Rose could whip back a snappy retort however, the painting swung open and a chorus of _How are you today miss?_'s and _What can we get you miss?_'s assailed their ears.

"I wasn't aware you were a regular!" Scorpius exclaimed with mock surprise.

"Oh shutup" replied a grumpy Rose, who preceeded to request a ham sandwitch before hastily backing out of the room. "I know it out of necessity. Sometimes studying leaves you too late to catch mealtimes. And anyway, how do you know of it?"

Rose stared quizzically at Scorpius who became suddenly uncomfortable and mumbled "we should get going".

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_'Ok so definitely not cool_'.

Rose had been stuck in the great hall for four hours. Four hours! And not once in those four hours had Scorpius said a word to her. She could understand if it was because there were other people in the room, but you'd think that once they'd left (which they all had) he'd at least say something.

Maybe a "could you pass the pumpkin" or a "it's getting late isn't it?" But no, Rose was not that lucky to be addressed by his Royal Malfoyness.

_'He could just be absorbed in what he's doing. But how hard is it to levitate dancing pumpkins?'_

Rose was definitely bored.

When in times of desperate boredom she resorted to music. Her mother taught her years ago the spells that can transform a muggle electronic device into a fully-functioning wizarding appliance. Rose's neon green wizard mp3 player (yes, wizard!) was her first attempt and it had worked rather well. Well, apart from the occasional glitching onto a Wizard radio channel. But who really cares about that if you can have all your favourite music on hand at the touch of a button?

Rose had been going to try it on an iPod but her mother had said they were too expensive to try an experiment on. She knew her family had loads of money in the bank but that they also never used it. They'd never had a three-storey house or a Jacuzzi or a Porche and if she was honest she thought she'd been better off because of it. Her father always used to tell her and her brother the short-comings of having too much money even though she knew he secretly loved not being in a poor family any more. Apparently people could end up too arrogant and absorbed in their superiority when they had a lot of money.

"You don't want to end up the sort of people that the Malfoys are," her dad would sternly lecture them. It was rare that he'd lecture, it was usually Hermione who did that. But he went funny when it came to the Malfoys. He'd be ever so shocked to find that his daughter had a crush on a Malfoy. "Beat him in every exam Rosie," he'd said to her as she was preparing to go to Hogwarts for the first time.

It was most likely all those years of conditioning that had initially made her wary of Scorpius. Oh how she'd regretted it once he'd proved to the school that he was a decent human being and not the cruel sadistic person that his family name gave him.

_'That's life,'_ Rose sighed.

Bumping up the volume on her mp3 player, she let herself be absorbed by the rhythmic rock beat of her music while she worked.

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